Shropshire
County of western England, which has contained the unitary authority
The Wrekin since April 1998. Sometimes abbreviated to Salop, Shropshire
was officially known by this name from 1974 until local protest
reversed the decision in 1980.
Area:
3,490 sq km/1,347 sq mi
Towns:
Shrewsbury (administrative headquarters), Ludlow, Oswestry, Telford
Physical:
Shropshire is bisected, on the Welsh border, northwest- southeast by
the River Severn; River Teme; Ellesmere (47 ha), the largest of
several lakes; the Clee Hills rise to about 610 m/1,800 ft (Brown
Clee) in the southwest
Features:
Ironbridge Gorge open-air museum of industrial archaeology, with the
Iron Bridge (1779), the world's first cast-iron bridge; Market
Drayton is famous for its gingerbread, and Wem for its sweet peas
Agriculture:
Cereals (barley, oats, wheat), sugar beet, mangolds (a root vegetable
used for cattle feed), vegetables (turnips, swedes), sheep and
cattle; dairy farming; forestry
Industries:
Brick-making; engineering; limestone; manufacturing : machine tool,
agricultural implements (Shrewsbury, Market Drayton, Prees, Whitchurch,
Ellesmere), carpets and radio receivers (Bridgnorth), clocks (Whitchurch);
Shropshire is the principal iron-producing county of England
Population:
(1995) 419,900
Famous People:
Charles Darwin, A E Housman, Wilfred Owen, Gordon Richards
History:
Shropshire became a county in the 10th century, as part of the kingdom
of Mercia in its defence against the Danes. During the Middle
Ages, it was part of the Welsh Marches and saw much conflict between
the lords of the Marches and the Welsh.
History
On the evidence of its numerous hill- top forts, Shropshire had a considerable
population in the Early Iron Age. It was settled by the Romans,
who established at Wroxeter the third largest city of Roman Britain,
and was subsequently added to the Saxon kingdom of Mercia by Offa
in the 8th century. There are several sections of Offa's Dyke,
marking the boundary between Mercia and Wales, in the west of
the county. Near Shrewsbury was fought the battle between Henry
IV and the Percys (1403) at which Henry Percy was killed; the
place is now marked by the church and village of Battlefield.
Chuches and Manor-Houses
The county contains many beautiful ruins, such as Haughmond, Buildwas,
and Lilleshall abbeys and Much Wenlock Priory. There is a large
number of castles, of which only fragments generally remain; Ludlow
is the finest. Stokesay House is perhaps the best example in the
country of a fortified manor-house of the 13th century. There
are many other manor -houses of the 16th to 18th centuries, and
many examples of the traditional timber-framed architecture characteristic
of the area. Shropshire 's churches display a range of architectural
styles: Heath Chapel, Edstaston, and Holgate are Norman; Acton
Burnell is a perfect example of Early English; and the church
at Tong is in the Perpendicular style.
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